In general when packing products from a production line, one type of product is finished and delivered for packing at a time, and the packing, palletizing and delivery of a single type of product at a time can be relatively easily organised and managed. However, with products such as cut and packaged meat which is derived by processing a whole down into component parts, the number of different types of product delivered for freezing, chilling or other further processing may be very extensive, and these parts are all delivered up at essentially the same time in a substantially random order, requiring sorting.
Automated and manual systems are known for sorting meat cuts or other mixed and assorted products, where the products are identified with a barcoded label applied to each, and where each identified piece is transported to a designated tray or shelf in a racking system. The sorted products may be then palletized and transferred to a freezer or chiller, or more preferably the racking system itself is refrigerated, so that the sorted products are chilled or frozen, and maintained frozen, while stored.